4 Kid-Friendly Magic Tricks Anyone Can Master

No magic wand or white rabbits needed to look like a pro with these awesome illusions.

By Lorraine Allen

Nothing gets kids’ attention faster than MAGIC! I remember my first and only childhood magic show like it was yesterday. Oh, the wonder! The amazement! The confusion. Magical illusions seem to cast a sort of spell on their audiences, no matter how young or old. Here, four simple, awesome illusions anyone can master -- and enjoy with kids.

1. Color Me Crazy!All you need for this trick is a box of crayons. The trick is simply that your child will pick a color or two from the box while your back is turned, and you will magically guess correctly which colors he chose without looking. (Yes, you are amazing.)

First, hand your kid a box of crayons. Turn your back away from him as he picks his colors, and put your hands behind your back. Then, have your child place his chosen crayon in your hand. Discreetly scratch off just a little bit of the crayon with your fingernail, keeping your back to him.

Wave your arms back and forth saying something like, “I can read your mind! I can see your thoughts … I’m transferring them into my mind…” And while you move your hands back and forth, take a look at your fingernail to see what color crayon he chose.

Reveal the answer with a dramatic “Abracadabra!”

2. Mind Reading EnvelopesThis is another trick that involves colors and is really fun and simple. Before you begin, in secret, glue two identical envelopes together back-to-back, so that there is a flap open on each side.

Next, take two notecards. On one card, write the word RED on one side, and YELLOW on the other side. On the second card, write BLUE on one side, and GREEN on the other.

Put one card in each envelope, and remember where you put which word.

When you begin the trick, give your kid a choice of red, yellow, blue, or green crayons.

Whichever one she picks, pull out the card and say: “See, I knew you would choose that color!”

3. Magic EnvelopesUsing the same envelopes as above, leave one envelope empty and in the other, place a notecard on which you write a note to your kid, like, “Hi Sam! So nice to see you! I love that blue shirt.” Show the empty envelope to your child and say, “See, this envelope is empty, but it will soon have a magical message for you!”

Then, wave it around over his head and say something like, “the envelope is magically writing you a note. I feel it! It’s almost ready!” Stop waving it around, and pull out the note that magically appeared in that “empty” envelope.

4. Incredible Shrinking & Growing ShapesBefore you begin, on a standard letter-sized piece of paper, draw a large round doughnut about an inch thick from the inner ring to the outer ring. Cut out a section of the doughnut that is roughly one-third of the whole doughnut shape (so you will have something that is shaped like a rainbow).

Next, cut out a second section of the doughnut that is EXACTLY the same size as the first. (Lay the first down on the rest of the doughnut, and cut that way, so you have two the same). Discard the rest of the doughnut. Color one doughnut section in red, and the second section in yellow.

Now, put them flat on a surface, one above the other, with a little space between -- and the magical thing is that, even though they are exactly the same size, whichever one you have on the bottom will look MUCH bigger, and the top one will look much smaller.

To wow your audience, say, “See, this red one on the bottom is much bigger than the yellow above it. Now I will pick up the smaller yellow one -- feel how it’s just regular paper -- and I will stretch it.” (Gently pretend you are pulling the yellow paper, like a rubber band, to make it grow). Now, place that one on the bottom and it will look much larger than before!

This simple optical illusion is a real brain-teaser, and it takes just minutes to make your prop.

What other simple magic tricks have you done with your kids?

Lorraine Allen is a writer, and mom and personal chef to one spunky 6-year-old girl with severe food allergies. You can enjoy their delicious recipes and follow their amusing family cooking adventures at Feeding Lina.